Real estate market expected to remain strong in first half of 2010

TORONTO - A new Royal LePage survey predicts Canada's residential real estate market will remain unusually strong through the first half of 2010.
The real estate firm says as confidence in the economic recovery grows, average prices are expected to continue to increase.
Royal LePage executive Phil Soper says the real estate market enters 2010 with "considerable momentum from an unusually strong finish to the previous year."
He says the stimulus effect of low borrowing costs has contributed to a sharp rise in demand that has driven activity to new highs.
Royal LePage says house prices appreciated in late 2009, with fourth quarter price averages higher than fourth quarter 2008.
The average price of detached bungalows rose to $315,055 (up 6 per cent), the price of standard two-storey homes rose to $353,026 (up 5.2 per cent), and the price of a standard condominium rose to $205,756 (up 6.4 per cent).
Regions that saw the strongest declines during the recession are now showing marked gains. Those regions include Toronto and the Lower Mainland, B.C. Vancouver in particular experienced a robust quarter, with home prices rising across all housing types surveyed.
"No other sector of the economy has been as highly affected by economic stimulus as housing," said Soper.
"As consumer confidence has improved, Canadians have shown a lingering reluctance to acquire depreciating assets such as consumer durables, but have embraced the opportunity to invest in real property."